With another Memorial Day holiday weekend set to start another boating season in northern climes, it’s a good time to remember to play it safe on the water.
The Sea Tow Foundation, a non-profit organization that the tow company formed to promote safe boating, has launched a nationwide Designated Skipper campaign to help eliminate boating under the influence and alcohol-related accidents.
It takes less than five minutes to join the campaign. All a boater needs to do is visit DesignatedSkipper.com and pledge to make common-sense decisions.
“We don’t want to tell boaters not to have fun out on the water. We just want to encourage them to pick a designated skipper for their boat who will stay sober, do the driving and make sure everybody gets home safely — the same thing they would if they were heading out for a night of fun in their car,” said Kristen Frohnhoefer, vice president of the foundation’s board.
The program is designed to complement the Coast Guard’s enforcement efforts by promoting BUI awareness and voluntary prevention by boaters. Any seasoned boater knows that local and federal marine authorities will be out in force during the long holiday weekend.
In related news, the Coast Guard this week released its first boating safety app. Take a look at what it offers:
The mobile app is not designed to replace a VHF marine radio, which the Coast Guard strongly recommends all boaters have aboard. The app was mainly designed to provide additional boating-safety resources for users of mobile devices. it will be available on the Apple and Google Play online stores.
For information, visit http://www.uscg.mil/mobile.
